I Wouldn't change it for the World
by Kamimari36
Summary: Naruto muses about why he stayed in Konoha. And why he wants to keep it that way.


Kamimari36:Hey! I decided to write a quick little oneshot for Naruto's birthday! Take some time off of Kazoku, my other story, and write something else for a change. The whole story is in Naruto's POV, but jumps in and out of it time to time. Time for you to guess the pairing...until you read the story. Read and review!

I Wouldn't change it for the world, A Naruto fanfic

It was Naruto's 16th birthday. Instead of being a pushover and letting himself get beat up by the villagers, he avoided them all together and hid. He wound up on top of the Hokage Mountain, with the faces of his idols looking out to Konoha, as if they were still watching over them, even if death.

All except Tsunade.

Tsunade was his grandmother, practically. Although she treated him like her very own brother and sometimes even her son, he would always see her as his grandmother, always watching over him, no matter where he went. She always did what she thought what was best for him, either from paying for rent, food, or clothing, or even protecting him from the council and the villagers.

The villagers.

They were the reason he was treated like crap. Due to contrary belief, not all ninja had him on their death list. Most ninja that hated him were either inexperienced Chuunin and Genin, or Jounin and Anbu that lost their loved ones to Kyuubi and couldn't get over it without some sort of revenge. The villagers though were to naive to care. They could care less about what the Yondaime wanted him to be. A hero, yeah right! He was treated like dirt. If he didn't have any friends, he would have left long ago due to those idiots.

Kakashi.

For some reason, his sensei's name popped into his mind. He thought of Kakashi as some sort of Perverted mishap of a ninja that got lucky breaks. He was only half right. He gained a lot of respect for the masked man after he realized that Kakashi was an ex-ANBU captain. Kakashi was one of the main reasons he was alive today. He distinctly remembered being saved numerous times by an ANBU squad, with the leader wearing a wolf mask. That was Kakashi. He was now to Naruto more of a concerned, still Perverted uncle, concerned about him nevertheless.

Iruka.

Iruka was his dad, his surrogate father. Before Tsunade came, Iruka would always take him out for food, and make sure he was okay when the villagers got out of hand. Iruka and him hung out even more after the Genin exams. Now, they don't see each other as often, but when they do, it means a special celebration or something of importance.

Jiriaya.(sp?)

Then there was Jiriaya. The old pervert had death on his heels, but nevertheless, he always managed to have a good time, while staying in fit and as one of the most feared ninja in the world. During the 3 year travel, Jiriaya would time and time again prove to Naruto that he really did care. This time, he would actually watch and train him instead of peek on woman or go to whore houses. Jiriaya prepared Naruto for the ninja world. Killing. Keeping sane. Controlling Kyuubi. And although he wouldn't admit it, Jiriaya helped him grow up.

The Konoha 12.

The great Konoha 12. When he looked back on it, they were the most feared genin through jonin to come out of Konoha since the last generation of the 4th hokage and the Ino-Shika-Cho teams. He had also worked with every single one of them, and each of them were one of his friends, the sole reason that he wanted to stay.

Shikamaru.

Shikamaru was an odd one. Shikamaru wore a mask too, just like him, except the mask was he was just a lazy slacker. After the chuunin exams, Shikamaru turned into the tactical mind that leads the most missions without fail and injuries. Shikamaru and him had a mutual relationship where one was friends with the other, but never voiced it out loud. After Asuma died, the two would often be seen by the memorial stone, mourning their loved ones and friends. Shikamaru turned depressed, and started to smoke. Once he was asked by the pineapple head, how he dealed with his father and mother's death, he answered, "You can't miss what you never had." Shika's eyes bulged, and then he smoked in Asuma's honor.

Choji.

The big boned tank was next. He remembered when he was always picked on, being called fat. He would always stand up for Choji, but he would take the beating that followed. Eventually Choji stood up for himself and the two became friends after fighting back. And Choji's bond grew after Naruto beat him in a ramen eating contest. The two raced each other last week, and Ichiraku's had to close for the next month, due to the lack of supply of ramen that Choji and him caused.

Ino.

He didn't really like her during academy days, but now he had a newfound respect for the kunochi. They were alike, both brash, loud, loved to voice their opinions. But they also had a major thing in common. Gardening. Yes, it was not known that the orange wearing loudmouth loved to do something like gardening. In fact, Ino didn't believe it at first. But she was in for a surprise. After seeing the garden located at the outskirts of Konoha, Ino wanted some samples to sell. Now every week he is paid personally by Ino for the flowers that they sell. He gets 75 of every sale that every flower he gives that is sold. Let's just say he had made a living off of it.

Lee.

The spandex clad lad and Naruto himself had a weird friendship. Lee would be found training, and that's all he did. After seeing Lee in normal clothes, Naruto recognized who he really was. Lee was from the orphanage. He remembered a kid with braids, always being degraded for learning at a different rate than others. Lee and Naruto were friends at the orphanage, so it wasn't hard for them to make amends again after they realized who the other was.

TenTen.

TenTen was not somebody Naruto was friends with. But she would at least sell him weaponry at her father's shop, something that at least meant something too him.

Neji.

Neji had really changed for the better. Before, Neji was like Sasuke, with his arrogant pride and holier-than-you attitude. But after realizing fate wasn't sealed in stone, his personality and demeanor changed. He was cold to strangers, but he now was a true friend, and even himself inspired all of the branch members that one day, they would be free. He became nicer to Hiashi and Hinata, and now no longer held a grudge against the main family.

Sakura.

Sakura was his one crush, once. After realizing how much she loved Sasuke, he dropped it. He was depressed at first, but then realized that she loved him like a brother. They were often mistaken as couples by most of the ninja populace, but it was Naruto who explained that they were just friends. Sakura blamed herself for not trying hard enough to be a ninja, which she was convinced meant was the reason why Sasuke never loved her. She was now an excellent kunochi and medic-nin. She stopped beating up on Naruto and blaming him for everything. She grew up too, it just took a few talks and a lot of patience.

Sasuke.

He always envied Sasuke, loved by all of Konoha, hated by none. Girls swooning at his feet, boy's wishing to be him. Naruto was one of those guys. But Sasuke thought that his bloodline meant that he was the best. He needed a wake up call. And the battle on the roof top only encouraged Sasuke to become the best he could be. But unfortunately that meant he had to go to Orochimaru for power. Naruto wished that Sasuke was still good, but he doubted it. He wanted one more chance, just one more, that he could bring Sasuke back. But not every one got a second chance.

Kiba.

Kiba shared one of the few, less serious friendly rivalries with Naruto. They would hang out instead of train like Lee, Talk about what was happening in their lives, instead of being blunt and to the point like Neji, and they were always laid back, relaxed when they fought, instead of being tensed and eager like Sasuke. And he was a good sport too. After the fight in the prelims, Kiba apologized for acting like a jerk to him in the Academy, and even congratulated him on the win.

Shino.

Shino was once a strange enigma to Naruto, but Shino was just an overprotective brother, always watching his siblings backs, even if they wanted to or not. With his intel of bugs, it was actually Shino, not Ino, who had the most gossip of Konoha. Shino was the most protective of Hinata, who was his own, surrogate sister. Before his personal talk with Hinata, he personally threatened Naruto to win, because as he put it, "This fight means the world to her, Uzumaki. Don't screw it up. You better win!" Then, Shino took off his glasses and glared. Naruto was scared for one of the worst times in his life.

Hinata.

Oh, sweet Hinata. Naruto really liked her. She never doubted him or belittled him. She was one of the first to support him, and one of the ones that never gave up. She was the heir of the Hyuuga clan, and was always shunned by the Hyugga council, as she was weak, and useless. But all Naruto saw was beauty, and strength. But there was little interaction between the two. He didn't really know a lot about her. He wasn't sure what to think of her. Did he like her? Did she like him? Were they friends? Was she really what he saw in her? Was he really what she saw in him?

Naruto cut off his musings. These friends were the sole reason he stayed in this hellhole. But he everything about them, yet nothing about them. Hinata was one of those people. To many questions about her, not enough answers. But now he knew how to answer all of those questions.

Uzumaki Naruto was going to ask Hyuuga Hinata on a date.

AN:Ha, you probably already guessed the pairing, but I could really careless. I really wanted to finish another chapter for Kazoku by today, but I had no inspiration. So I decided to write this. I really hoped you liked it. PLEASE REVIEW!

Kamimari36


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